Subsea Engineering - the fundamentals. Training course delivered over 12 weeks

Understanding subsea oil and gas production systems

Across the world the search for oil pushes field developments into ever-more difficult areas with deeper water, more isolated and hostile environments and increasing complexity in the reservoirs.

Offshore production technology has to develop techniques to meet these challenges.  This course delivers a thorough introduction to subsea engineering and examines the production equipment that is placed on the seabed and connects the well with the above sea surface production hosts, whether fixed platforms or floating production facilities.  It considers the building blocks of subsea engineering including the key components, flow assurance, reliability and maintenance. The crucial role of subsea engineering in offshore production is illustrated with detailed case studies.

Participants gain:
• A complete overview of subsea production equipment and systems
• An understanding of how subsea systems are designed, installed and operated
• Knowledge of the technology and processes involved in subsea engineering
• An awareness of current developments and issues shaping subsea production around the world

The course provides a unique blend of downloadable and multimedia learning materials, expert tutorial support and peer interaction via a dedicated online forum – ensuring you gain a thorough, accurate and up-to-date knowledge of subsea engineering fundamentals, wherever you are in the world.

During the course you will study:

Introduction to Subsea Production
• Introduction to offshore production
   - Background to offshore production systems
   - Global oil and gas reserves and fields
   - Introduction to offshore exploration and drilling

• Introduction to subsea engineering
   - Building blocks
   - Subsea Production Systems (SPS) and Umbilicals, Risers and Flowlines (URF)
   - Other elements
   - Systems design

• Types of subsea completions
   - Extensions to existing platforms
   - Tie-backs to existing production hosts
   - Production systems for floating hosts: Floating Production, Storage and Offloading systems (FPSOs) and Floating Production Vessels (FPVs)
   - Well to beach developments (gas fields)

• Flow assurance for subsea production systems
   - Hydraulics
   - Wax
   - Hydrates

Wellheads, Xmas Trees and Manifolds
• Wellheads
   - Drilling subsea wells
   - Wellheads as part of drilling and production operations
   - Blowout preventers
   - Design and functions
   - Installation
   - Examples

• Xmas trees
- Types of trees
- Dual bore vertical trees and spool/horizontal trees
- Design and function
- Suppliers
- Installation
- New developments (drill through and all electric trees)
- Examples

• Manifolds
- Templates
- Types of manifolds (wells clustered around manifold or template manifold)
- Design and functions
- Installation
- Examples

Pipelines, Flowlines and Risers
• Pipelines and flowlines
- Design and functions
- Route survey
- Pipe selection of materials and coatings
- Installation methods
- Operations
- Examples

• Risers
- Requirements and functions
- Flexible dynamic risers
- Design
- Operation and use
- Manufacture
- Current developments
- Hybrid riser towers
- Steel catenary risers
- Examples

Control Systems, Umbilicals and Equipment Costs
• Subsea production control systems
- Types
- Electro-hydraulic multiplex control systems
- Equipment and suppliers
- Operations
- Installations
- Examples

• Drilling control systems

• Umbilicals
- Functions
- Design and manufacture
- Installation
- Examples

• Costs of subsea equipment

Reliability, Maintenance and New Technologies
• Subsea equipment reliability, requirements and operability
• Inspection, maintenance and repair
- Shallow water – diver operations
- Deepwater diverless interventions
- Remote Operated Vehicles (ROVs)
- Autonomous Underwater Vehicles (AUVs)

• Decommissioning activities
- Production hosts
- Subsea equipment

• New technologies
- Subsea pumping
- Subsea processing
- Requirements
- Systems and examples

Subsea Developments: Context and Case Studies
• Subsea completions - interfaces with other functions
- Drilling and well completions
- Production hosts
- Government authorities

• Examples of fields developed with subsea completions
• Increased production to existing production host
- North Sea fields

• Tie back to production host
- Gulf of Mexico fields
- Norwegian fields

• Subsea production to floating host
- North Sea fields
- Angolan fields
- Australian fields
- Brazilian fields

• Gas fields – deepwater production to shallow water host
- MCE (Gulf of Mexico)
- Malampaya field (Philippines)

• Gas fields – well to beach
- Orman Lange field (Norway)
- West Delta Deep (Egypt)

For a full course outline, download the Fundamentals of Subsea Engineering brochure.